Thursday March 09, 2017

Those of you who have already updated should know that the latest version of Firefox has dropped all NPAPI plug-ins (Java, Silverlight, etc.), although support for Flash continues. Aside from security patches, the update also introduces WebAssembly, which is supposed to bring the performance of native applications to the web. I presume this means that the line between desktop and Internet content will be blurred.

آ…WebAssembly will let developers create CPU-intensive appsآ—such as games, 3D renderers, video editorsآ—that run in near-native speed without relying on plug-ins. Bryant envisioned WebAssembly (which also goes by "wasm") as leading to both revamped current web apps and new categories that have been stymied by performance issues. Bryant also called WebAssembly a "game changer." Apple (WebKit, the foundation of Safari), Google (Chrome) and Microsoft (Edge) have also signed on to WebAssembly. Google has said it will enable WebAssembly support in Chrome 57, currently slated to ship March 14.